Pilot killed in Arizona plane crash, officials say

The crash site of a plane that went missing Tuesday was located by Gila County Sheriff’s Office deputies about 40 miles northeast of Phoenix in the Mazatzal Wilderness, according to a Wednesday department press release.

With the help of an Arizona Department of Public Safety Helicopter, deputies found the small aircraft, a Piper PA31, in a field of debris and snow.

One body was found in the wreckage and has been tentatively identified as the pilot, David Kappes, sheriff’s deputies said. Confirmation will be made after DNA testing, according to the release.

The FAA reported the plane went off radar and lost radio contact about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, somewhere over the Matazal mountains.

Deputies said they confirmed the identification and registration of the plane after digging through snow and debris.

Posting a comment to our website allows you to join in on the conversation. Share your story and unique perspective with members of the azcentral.com community.

Comments posted via facebook:

► Join the Discussion

azcentral.com has switched to the Facebook comment system on its blogs. Existing blog comments will display, but new comments will only be accepted via the Facebook comment system. To begin commenting, you must be logged into an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. While we welcome you to join conversations, readers are responsible for their comments and abuse of this privilege will not be tolerated. We reserve the right, without warning or notification, to remove comments and block users judged to violate our Terms of Service and Rules of Engagement. Facebook comments FAQ

Join thousands of azcentral.com fans on Facebook and get the day's most popular and talked-about Valley news, sports, entertainment and more - right in your newsfeed. You'll see what others are saying about the hot topics of the day.